B2B, booked as 1 cruise, Latitudes perks?

[Cruisernat]

Wondering if anyone experienced this scenario. I called NCL to book 2 cruises back to back ( 11day + 10 day) and the agent booked it as 1 cruise (1 booking number)  for 21 days, although it was not advertised as such. I thought that was great. No changing cabins, no new key cards etc. Today I was looking at the reservation and noticed the tips for the "free at sea" dinner were for just the one dinner (for 2 people). That made me think about all the latitude perks I should would be receiving as a platinum member.  Per cruise, 1 free laundry, 1 free dinner with bottle of wine, 1 free dinner, strawberries, water, cocktail party etc. Will my perks reset after the first 11 days on the ship or will the cruise be considered as 1 cruise ?

[ChiefMateJRK]

I don't recall anybody reporting this for the past several years.  Did you really only receive one invoice showing all 21 days?  Can you post any portion of it so that we can see what you're seeing?  

[bomabound]

I’m curious about this too.  I’ve wanted to book that way but was told they can’t do that.  I totally see your point though in getting fewer perks with it booked as a single cruise.

[pal1]

We just did a B2B on the Joy in April and we had to go to the Cruise Next desk to have them manually change us from Platinum to Sapphire after the first leg. They did ask if our reservation was under one number or two--ours was two different numbers and they said that that would make it much easier.

You will also have to go to Guest Services to get a new card after the change so it reflects your new status.

[julig22]

I absolutely would NOT book as a single trip.  You can book the same room on 2 different reservations.

As you already pointed out, the perks wouldn't double, although it would be interesting to see if the shareholder OBC was $250 or 2x$100.

I had B2B cruises booked, then NCL cancelled 1 of the cruises (did a lift and drop to another ship, same dates, similar itinerary) and moved the dates on the other so could no longer do a B2B.  They were separate bookings but they wouldn't add back the missing airfare (this was in the days when the airfare promo wasn't always available)

If something happens and you can't make 1 leg, you have to cancel everything.

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I absolutely would NOT book as a single trip.  You can book the same room on 2 different reservations.

I will certainly agree.  That said, I had a Bliss B2B in April.  While on the phone with an agent doing something unrelated, she asked me if I wanted her to link the two reservations as a B2B.  I said "sure."  I'm not sure what the accomplished (if anything), but while on the cruise I a) received a letter in my cabin acknowledging my B2B and telling me all the things I did not have to do (pack, etc.) and also, and perhaps more useful, b) telling me that my onboard account would remain open for both legs.  That actually did save me some money on some leg 1 OBC that would not have been spent.  😎

[Cruisernat]

13 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I absolutely would NOT book as a single trip.  You can book the same room on 2 different reservations.

As you already pointed out, the perks wouldn't double, although it would be interesting to see if the shareholder OBC was $250 or 2x$100.

I had B2B cruises booked, then NCL cancelled 1 of the cruises (did a lift and drop to another ship, same dates, similar itinerary) and moved the dates on the other so could no longer do a B2B.  They were separate bookings but they wouldn't add back the missing airfare (this was in the days when the airfare promo wasn't always available)

If something happens and you can't make 1 leg, you have to cancel everything.

Thanks for pointing that out, I had not even thought about the shareholder perk aspect.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Just now, Cruisernat said:

Thanks for pointing that out, I had not even thought about the shareholder perk aspect.

$250 vs. $200 NCLH shareholder benefit would pale in comparison with the other lost perks.

 

49 minutes ago, Cruisernat said:

No changing cabins, no new key cards etc.

Even if two reservation numbers, you don't have to change cabins.  New key cards take literally five minutes on disembarkation day when you have little else going on.  I got them at guest services with no waiting.

[itsnotjustme]

I am booked B2B now, each is 7 days, under a single reservation #.  Here is where things stand:

 

Free at Sea:  We will get everything twice - like it is two cruises.

Shareholder OBC:  We received the $100 twice, not the $250, like it is two cruises.

Latitudes Perks (Sapphire):  Unclear at this point.

 

We are in a Club Balcony, so we should also get 1 free laundry on each cruise.

 

Doing it again I would try to ensure it is booked as two reservations - but finding a cabin I can stay in for both cruises.

 

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, itsnotjustme said:

Doing it again I would try to ensure it is booked as two reservations - but finding a cabin I can stay in for both cruises.

Yep.  That's the way to do it.  I've only actually sailed one B2B, but I have six(?!) booked between now and the end of 2025.  I love the Breakaway Plus ships, but seven day cruises are simply not enough.  B2B is the fix. 😎

[TrumpyNor]

We have done many B2B cruises with NCL, and the first few times (talking 10-20 years back) we always booked under ONE reservation - the main benefit being a reduction in the cruise price when compared to booking it as two separate cruises.

 

Then two things happened that made us always book B2B cruises as two separate reservation (always with the same cabin no on both cruises though, for practial reasons:

1. There was no longer any financial benefit (lower price) for booking it as one cruise instead of two
2. Our Latitude status only gave us the perks as ONE cruise instead of two
3. Promotional perks were often also better when booking as two cruises

 

For practical reasons our PCC always linked the two cruises though, so that we automatically received all needed information in regards to the B2B-procedures on board.

[Cruisernat]

11 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I don't recall anybody reporting this for the past several years.  Did you really only receive one invoice showing all 21 days?  Can you post any portion of it so that we can see what you're seeing?  

Yes 1 invoice for 21 days  (1 booking#) & only 1 deposit. The itinerary is one combined list with Air on both ends. 

[dbrown84]

I don't know if the specialty dining is important to you, but it seems like they should at least bump you up to 2 dinners per person.  Not sure how they could justify not doing it.  Your reservation is now a 21 day cruise, which entitles you to two meals each (I'm assuming you are in an inside or OV cabin), and two separate reservations would give you 1 meal on each leg.  That being said, you should probably speak with NCL about the status dinners.  If you're only going to get one set, then it would be much better to separate you reservations.  That way, you'd get 4 platinum dinners (two each leg), plus two free at sea dinners.  Since you can keep the same cabin for each cruise, it seems like the only benefit to combining the reservations is not having to re-key your room card, which shouldn't be a big deal because you can do it while the ship is empty during the changeover day

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

That way, you'd get 4 platinum dinners (two each leg), plus two free at sea dinners. 

Add to that 4 bags of laundry.  DW and I took full advantage of that during our recent 14 day B2B on the Bliss.  I'm getting really good at maxing out the clothes in those bags! 😎

[dbrown84]

Just now, ChiefMateJRK said:

Add to that 4 bags of laundry.  DW and I took full advantage of that during our recent 14 day B2B on the Bliss.  I'm getting really good at maxing out the clothes in those bags! 😎

yes, another good point.  I just made platinum on my last cruise.  I'll have to keep this in mind when I pack for my next cruise.  I'm already good at packing just a duffel bag or small roller bag when I cruise.  Now that I'm able to plan a mid trip laundry day, there will be even less that I need to pack